A Lone Wolf • Mark Tuan

|One|

It happened a lot faster than you expected. By now you'd think that you would've gotten the hang of it and kept track of the cycles, but you just got so distracted with work and school and life that mating season always hit you like a bag of bricks. That was the worst part of being a werewolf. You could handle full moons and the various packs you came across, but the mating season was the worst.

Your body craved the male's touch, but you hadn't found your mate yet, so usually, you just went crazy with lust and had no way to relieve the pressure. This was why you would end up locked in your apartment for the entire season, and you called in sick to both work and school. For that time you were always alone and miserable.

You really wished you had found your mate already because as you lay in your bed on the morning mating season started, your body ached with cravings, but you didn't even know how to go about searching for a mate. It would help if you had grown up with a pack, but you were a lone wolf, making the whole thing even more miserable. You didn't exactly run across other werewolves often, and it wasn't like you could just put an ad out on Craig's list, so you didn't really know all of the ins and outs of being a werewolf.

Today the cravings were minor compared to what they would be in a few days, so you forced yourself to get out of bed and get ready for the day. It would've been easier to just stay around the house all day, but after a few days of doing that, you always went crazy. That was why you tried to push through the first few days, so you could have some human contact. Luckily, today was Saturday, and you only had work, so you didn't have to worry about school.

You managed to get yourself to work okay, but you had to be on your feet all day, which didn't help your misery. You were a bag lady at a grocery store, and you were starting to wonder why you even left the house. No amount of money or human contact was worth your throbbing core and foggy brain.

Your manager even seemed to notice the pain you were in, so she came over to you. "Are you okay? You look really pale and sick."

You forced a smile on your face. "I'm fine," you lied. Seeing that she wasn't convinced, you continued, "It's just that time of the month." It was more like that time of the year, and it was worse than what other normal women went through, but your manager seemed to understand well enough.

"Do you want to go home early? We have enough people today, so it's okay," she offered.

As tempted as the offer was, you shook your head. You didn't have that much longer for your shift, and it was just one day. "It's okay. I can manage."

"All right, honey," your manager said. "If you change your mind, just come find me, and I'll let you go home."

"Okay," you said, but your smile was still forced. For the rest of your shift, you felt like a robot, putting groceries in bags. This continued going on for a while, and when it was nearing the end of your shift, you froze. A strong scent hit your nose and made your body ache more. You looked around, trying to find the source of the smell, but you couldn't quite figure it out.

Your mind was still darting around, trying to find the scent, when the smell became so overwhelming, you could barely breathe. That's when your eyes fell upon the man in the checkout line. His hair was blond, and he was extremely pretty. He was also the source of the wonderful smell. There was no doubt that he was also a werewolf, but you had never come across another werewolf who smelled so good before. Your mouth watered from the scent, and you couldn't keep your eyes off him.

You mindlessly bagged his grocery items, and he moved over to you to take the bag from you. He smiled at you knowingly, but there was something else in his eyes. It wasn't the same look you had gotten from other werewolves before. "Hi," he said with a bright smile and his deep, velvety voice.